Yes, I'm a Witch
by Kiwisilence
Summary: YJAM Prompt: "An explosion goes off in Artemis' face during a mission, permanently blinding her. What is an archer without her sight?" Artemis turns to Klarion the Witch Boy for a cure, but at what price? Artemis/Klarion. Minor Kaldur/Conner. Magical!Artemis. Klarion and Artemis fight the Justice League.
1. Introduction

**Title:** Yes, I'm a Witch

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Young Justice.

**Prompt:** An explosion goes off in Artemis' face during a mission, permanently blinding her. What is an archer without her sight?

**Pairing:** Artemis/Klarion

* * *

Artemis lay on the bed in the medical bay back at Mount Justice, waiting to be removed from the team. None of her fellow teammates could face her right now except for Megan, who Artemis had never really been that friendly towards anyway. The doctors, whose faces she didn't care to memorize, had left her two hours ago.

The Martian must have felt guilt and pity for Artemis, but the archer was not above using it to her advantage. Megan could help her stay on the team. Artemis had loved joining the group – years of her father's training and criminal sprees might be redeemed. Young Justice had lessened the guilt she faced from helping her father, but it also created an alluring thrill.

Artemis loved fighting – she craved it – despite being a hero, it was the one trait she probably still shared with her father. Both Crocks loved combat.

That was gone now – all because of an impulsive move. Artemis was blind, because she had protected Megan from the explosion that had consumed the building from their last mission. If the other team members had gone blind, they would still have had their superpowers except for Robin. Megan, Wally, and Kaldur could still have been useful despite being blind. Even Robin would still have been an asset with his hacking abilities.

But not Artemis – her archery and her martial arts depended on her eyesight. Sure, she could train and try to still fight criminals – but she was too much of a burden now. Years of her training felt wasted. It had only been a few hours since the team's last mission, but Artemis expected Batman to come charging in and remove her despite her current state.

She couldn't be sad anymore – there had to be some way to fix her eyesight. The league's doctors had told her that she would never see again – so she could not turn to science to cure her.

_Where is Wally when you need him to lighten the mood?_

Wally's world – where everything could be defined and predicted by scientific theorems and formulas could not help her. Artemis' initial tears had long since dried.

_If science and medicine cannot help me, magic must. I will do anything…Anything to see again._

"Megan," Artemis called out, moving her right hand around until it found and rested on the Martian's shoulder.

"Artemis…I feel guilty. Thank you for taking the explosion for me. I don't know what to say..."

"Megan…I need your help."

"Anything," the Martian cheered up. Artemis could picture Megan doing somersaults at how happy she was that Artemis was finally talking to her after what happened.

"I need help finding someone – could you do that with your telepathy? Let's say you read his mind from one of our missions, could you try sensing him?"

"Maybe…I do have a telepathic bond with the team where I can sense where you are if I need too, but I've been around you on a regular basis. Why are you asking for this?"

"Megan…I just need to know if you can do it."

"Yes. Who do you want to find?"

"The witch-boy. Klarion."

"Artemis…he's a criminal. You shouldn't be doing this especially in the state you're in. I'm going to get Batman back here."

"No!" Artemis snarled, grasping Megan's hand, before applying pressure to almost break it.

"Artemis – you're hurting me."

"Megan – I want to see. Batman and the league can't help me now. Don't you want me to see again? I'll be kicked off the team!"

"Yes I do…but him? Why? The league must be able to help."

"Who else do we know that could help us? No one."

"But he'll trick you. I don't think he'll help you for free, Artemis."

"Does it even matter now? Look at me – take a good look at what I've become so that I could protect you from the explosion. I'm useless!"

"I'm so sorry…" Megan started crying again, sitting back down on a chair next to Artemis' bed.

"You're going to help me find him. Wherever he is, we can fly there in your bioship. He probably won't run when he sees us – he'll think of using us to get to the helmet Wally kept."

"But can we let him get the helmet?"

"No! But we can try tricking him! Or if not, we'll have to have a plan to get the helmet back and double-cross him. As long as I can see…"

"Okay…I'll help you if you know what you are doing. I only briefly read his mind that mission – so I'm not promising anything."

"Can you do it now? I don't know what the league will do with me now. They might come any minute to take me home."

"Just be quiet so I can concentrate."

Megan sat in the chair, wiping the tears from her eyes, before focusing her mind. Being around the other team members had made her able to sense them, reading both their minds and emotions without them in the room. She concentrated, trying to remember the feeling of reading Klarion's mind.

Suddenly, Megan's mind felt a strange pull to some dark, alluring energy. It felt like it was singing out to her, so she focused on its call. Her body started convulsing, but it wasn't until her body had fallen to the floor that Artemis had heard her and moved to steady the Martian.

"Megan? What's happening?"

"I don't know. I don't know..."

_Should I tell her to stop or urge her to continue? My sight depends on this._

"Artemis…something's wrong…"

The dark aura was netting itself around Megan's mind, before flooding into her.

"Keep concentrating, Megan."

Megan's body started shaking again in Artemis' arms. After a few minutes, the Martian's body stopped moving abruptly.

"Well, well, well," a cackling childish voice ripped itself from Megan's lips. The voice was Klarion's – Artemis could recognize it from how grating it was on her nerves. The sound seemed to be a violation of nature – Artemis hoped that Megan would come back, but more importantly, that her eyesight would return.

"Klarion?"

"Why yes. Why have you been probing minds where you don't belong, little archer?"

"Shut up. I need something from you."

_I must be brave now._

"Me? I'm flattered. What can I do for you?"

"Can you cure my eyesight?"

"Can and will are two very different things, archer… Why should I help you?"

"What do you want? Don't play with me, witch boy."

"Ohhhh – your temper as just as bad as that redhead archer's. Does it run in the family?"

Artemis glared at him, hoping that it came off menacing.

"I'll do anything."

"Fine. I want more than the Helmet of Nabu. It was more like a trophy to me. But you must agree to do something for me."

"Name it."

"After our last delightful encounter, Abra Kadabra didn't return to me. Some people just don't take well to having their masters leave them to be captured. It's not my fault that he couldn't escape! Anyway, I need a new servant and you can fulfill that role."

"And how would I become your servant?"

"A blood oath. As a bonus, I'll also teach you magic like I did with Abra. You will also need to help me find him."

"What else does servitude entail?"

"I will not tell you now. You must agree to serve me."

Artemis faltered.

_Klarion said the helmet was like a trophy to him, but what did being his minion minion? Is it worth my sight? Yes, look at my mother. She's crippled. I can't be at a disadvantage like that. And the promise of magic… I will initially be not just another well-trained human. I will be on par with the other members of my team finally. _

"I'll do it."

"Yes…" Klarion laughed from Megan's body. "Hold out your arm."

Artemis presented her arm forwards, noticing it accidentally nudge into Megan's side. As Klarion forced Megan's nails to transform into claws to quickly cut and draw a little of Artemis' blood, Artemis reflected on her choice.

_I'll never get used to being blind. This is the right choice. I will stick by this._

"Archer, for this to work, you must simply promise to serve me indefinitely."

"Is this a bonding or a marriage vow, Klarion?"

"Just do it, mortal!" Klarion hissed. Artemis almost laughed at how uncharacteristic it would look for way too nice Megan to hiss.

Artemis sarcastically replied, "I promise to serve the oh so great and powerful Klarion until my death. He's so strong that a rag-tag team of teenagers beat him."

"Ha ha. Very funny, archer."

Artemis felt a dark tendril of energy lash out, probably from Megan' possessed body, and loop around her. It sank into her – what felt like the center of her spiritual being. It wasn't a bad feeling – the darkness of the energy almost made her feel drunk on its power.

"Now I shall restore your eyes. I shall make you see more than you usually could have before the explosion. Your eyesight will be animal-like, but I won't go into the properties of the magic yet to someone so naïve."

Klarion chanted something so quietly that even Artemis heightened hearing couldn't pick it up.

Her eyesight returned, and Artemis's grin widened to once again greet the world of color. She didn't care that Megan was currently possessed.

_I can see!_

"Now what to do…" Klarion hummed from Megan.

"Can I still be on the team?" Artemis asked, tired of Klarion's humming.

"Yes…We both will be. It will give me opportunities to fight and teach you. Anyway, I will not always be possessing this girl's body. She's become my anchor to this plane like Teekl was, but I don't need to be with her at all times."

"Can you make her forget this happened?"

"Yes. Her powers combined with my magic running through her can do it. I'll make some fake memory of her sitting here and you suddenly regaining your sight. The team will question why, but even her uncle won't be able to detect that her memories are fake."

"But what if they read my mind?"

"I'm surpised she hasn't brought this up to your team since she knows about the Cadmus incident. She could have created mental blocks on each of you to shield your minds. I will do the same for you, but when her uncle reads your mind, he will come across the same fake memories he sees in Megan. But unlike with her, you will know that the memories are fake."

Artemis gulped, raising herself from the bed.

"Am I evil now?"

He looked at her, creating a humored glint in Megan's eyes.

"That question is irrelevant now, archer."

* * *

AN: The prompt also said "Bonus love if she's protecting a vulnerable-to-fire M'gann from the explosion, and it eventually ends in M'gann/Artemis," but I'm still not sure about if I should do this.

Should Artemis/Klarion be temporary or should Klarion continue to possess Megan and that could somehow end up into a Artemis/Megan pairing? Or should Klarion/Artemis be the only pairing? Or should Artemis have an eventual romance with Wally?

Anyway, should the explosion and mission be given more detail in a flashback?


	2. Chapter 2

Thanks for the reviews! Anyway, the main pairing will be Klarion/Artemis.

* * *

"So… Artemis. I have a serious question before I cartwheel out of the room shake my new body for Batman."

"Okay," Artemis was too tired to give a witty reply, but she rolled her eyes.

_How am I even supposed to respond to that? _

"Is my new body hot?"

"What?"

_He did not just ask me that. He? She? What gender even is he now?_

"You're so uptight Artemis." Klarion forced Megan's face to mock sadness.

"You did not just ask me that, pilgrim."

"I'm not a pilgrim! I'm just a hot White Martian pretending to be a Green Martian _now_. See?"

Klarion spun Megan's body around, making her skirt lift up and twirl.

"What are you doing?"

"Modeling my new body. You like?"

"No. Stop this and go deal with Batman."

The Witch-Boy ignored her, transforming Megan's body into his old form.

"Okay, Artemis. Now that I'm a man, do you like me?"

"No."

"No? What if I became your Wally? Or Roy? Or the Green Ar…"

Artemis raised her fist and punched Klarion in the side. Her glare intensified and locked with Klarion's eyes.

Klarion choked out, "Again, you're so uptight, Artemis. How will you survive working with me?"

"Leave me alone."

"Abra was way nicer than you," Klarion began pointing at her accusingly and pouting, "You meanie."

_It's hard to take him seriously when his voice is too high-pitched. Has he even been through puberty? Do demons…wizards…whatever he is…go through that even?_

"I can hear your thoughts! Remember that when I break your mother's neck." Klarion spat.

"Sorry…"

"Whatever," Klarion mocked Artemis by rolling his eyes, "I'm going off to Batman. I don't know what tests he'll want to run and how long you'll be here...Or if the Martian might come in and probe you. Batman's single right?"

"I don't want to know…What? I'm not going to ask... Anyway, what is so important that we have to do now besides lie to my mentors."

_I'm breaking every rule I agreed to when I joined this team. _

"Yes you are. And I'm so proud of you too." Klarion rose up towards the bed and pinched Artemis' cheek, before spinning again and flying out of the room.

_How can I ever know when he's serious? Why does it matter if Batman is single? Oh no..._

* * *

"Batman," Klarion pitched up Megan's voice to make it sound even more shrill and anxious. "You need to come to the medic bay."

Klarion forced Megan to wave her arms in the air and gasp dramatically.

"Calm down or else I will just leave and not listen to you. You need to be less erratic."

Klarion fought back the urge to shift his hands into claws and gut the caped crusader.

"Artemis can see again!"

"Is this a joke?" Batman's scowl deepened and seemed likely to embed itself permanently on his face.

"No! I was talking to her and she suddenly could see again. I tried asking her what happened, but she doesn't know. Besides, she just agreed to go shopping with me! So when can she leave?"

Batman ignored Klarion, pushing Megan aside to hover back to medical bay. Just as Batman left, the other members spoke up.

Wally cleared his voice before bellowing in a high-pitched and scratchy voice that rivaled Megan's, "Megan? What do you mean Artemis can see again?"

Kaldur added, "Megan, Artemis was our friend too, but you don't need to lie and give false hope for the team."

Superboy came to Kaldur's side, hovering just a little too closely to the Atlantean. "Is this another time like when you thought Twister was Red Tornado?"

Robin was the only team-member to support her. "Guys, maybe Megan is right? How could she lie about this?"

The other three boys just glared at the boy wonder, causing him to move back a few steps and lose confidence. Klarion was irritated: somehow a team of teenagers who couldn't trust each other and constantly doubted the _telepath_ Martian had beaten him when he had tried to steal the helmet.

"What, do you blame me for what happened with Artemis?"

Robin stepped closer to Klarion, "No, what's done is…"

"Of course we blame you!" Superboy shouted in another tantrum.

Before he could compose a pathetic response that be seen as typical Megan behavior, Klarion felt his anger at the team soar. "Are you idiots? Honestly, I might be shouting a mantra of 'Hello Megan' every time I speak, but how could I lie about this? She is there resting on her bed, perfectly able to see. Humans…"

Klarion shouldn't have said that – no, he knew and regretted saying it – but maybe now that he was in control of Megan's body, he could force her to have some confidence and defend herself. His vessel could not be seen as weak-willed.

Before the boys could respond, Batman swooped back into the room in cape-waving dramatic flare.

"She can see." His face angled itself towards Klarion. He was studying the Martian's face and Klarion wondered if Batman knew that she was a White Martian and somehow he had miscalculated the Batman responses.

"So…can Artemis and I go shopping? A little girl time?"

Superboy glared at Klarion, fuming angrily and inching closer towards Kaldur.

Batman ignored Klarion, "Artemis will be staying for further testing for today. The team will see her tomorrow."

* * *

"Klarion," Artemis whispered, "What are you doing back here?"

"Relax. The doctors are warded against coming into the room right now."

"Why did you come here? We don't have to find Abra now, do we?

"No, I'm bored. B-O-R-E-D bored. Entertain me."

"I'm not your mother, witch boy."

"Why not?" Klarion sat down on the bed beside her and shifted into a flailing, screaming baby, "Mommy! Give me a toy."

"Whatever. This is getting ridiculous. So how did Batman and the team respond?"

Klarion changed back into Megan's form, "I kindasortajustmaybe lost my temper. It's not that big of a deal." Klarion pouted at Artemis.

"What happened?"

_Will my team find out?_

"No…but Batman might think I cured you using some weird White Martian powers or something like that. Just another conspiracy theory blah blah blah. He'll probably confront Megan's uncle for information...or a steamy make-out session."

"Yeah...," Artemis paused awkwardly, "So how did my team react?"

"Ooooh, that's the fun part. They blame Megan for you losing your sight. Guess you shouldn't have pushed her out of the way?"

"Just tell me what happened."

"Superboy was angry. Kaldur went along with Superboy, because they're probably lovers."

"No, they're not."

"Artemis, I practically caught them with their tongues down each other's throats. They couldn't care else what I was saying."

"What really happened?"

_I'm growing impatient…_

"I told you…"

Artemis latched her hand onto Megan's arm. "I will twist your arm and break it, just tell me."

"Okay. Superboy and Kaldur stood really close together and thought I was lying or 'misguided.' Even Wally doubted me and isn't he supposed to have a crush on one or the both of us?"

Artemis ignored the last comment, continuing, "What about Robin?"

"He somewhat believed us, before Batman swooped in and confirmed what I said. I don't think we'll have to worry about Robin finding out that you pretty much sold your soul to me."

_Why does he have to remind me?_

"So what do you mean you lost you temper?"

"Not really… I just said 'how could I lie about this' and insulted them by calling them 'humans'…"

"You really want us to get caught, don't you? They'll find out whatever you are and what I am…?"

_What am I now?_

"Artemis, where is your love of magic?" Klarion somewhat sung out the word magic condescendingly, "Don't question what you are now. Anyways, Robin will believe anything we say. Kaldur is probably in fish-heat and mating with Superboy underwater too much to notice anything we do. That just leaves Wally."

"Maybe? Wally doesn't believe in magic though."

"Whatever. He's into that science mumbo jumbo and is rational enough to look for any clues in our behavior. He might suspect something."

"Why are you telling me this? I'm not the one who went against Megan's typical behavior and yelled at the team."

"Because, you're going to have to distract him."

"I don't want to even hear this. This will lead to some half-thought plot that will fail."

"You're doing it because I said so," Klarion raised his arm, sending out waves of red energy to strike Artemis. Artemis wasn't physically harmed, but the pain shook throughout her body.

"Stop it… I'm sorry. What do you want me to do?"

"Flirt with Wally."

"That doesn't even make sense."

"Sure it does. I told you to do it, so there, " Klarion forced Megan's tongue to stick out and her mouth to widen, revealing jagged rotten teeth.

"That's sick. How would flirting with Wally work? It would make him notice me more."

"No, it would make him 'blinded by love.'"

"Please, tell me to do anything else."

"Why, Artemis? I thought you loved Wally? Even Megan thinks so."

"What? That traitor."

"Do you not like Wally anymore?"

"I never said that and neither did I say I liked him to begin with."

"Do you like someone else then?" Klarion inched closer towards Artemis' bed.

"Why, do you like someone, Klarion? What made you get all hot and testy around my _male_ team members?"

Klarion slapped her before shouting, "Abra never asked that! At least he showed respect."

"Why do you always bring him up? What's so great about Abra?"

_Is Klarion flirting with me? Or am I too blind to see the mentions of Abra?_

"Okay…so let me ask this again. Artemis, am I hot?"

Klarion sat right next to Artemis on her bed, morphing back into his old form. He lifted his right hand and cupped the side of Artemis' face gently massaging it.

"What are you doing, witch-boy?"

"Answering the questions you were thinking."

Klarion swiftly planted his lips onto Artemis', but shifted into Wally's form as he deepened the kiss.

_Why did he change into Wally? Is this what kissing Wally would be like?_

By kissing her, Klarion sent dark, primal energy into Artemis' body. As Artemis felt Klarion make Wally's tongue slide into her mouth after tracing her lips, darkness surrounded her before she lost consciousness and fell asleep.

* * *

**The mission should have been easy. Megan and Artemis had teamed up and were sent to explore the east side of the abandoned building. Kid Flash and Robin were trying to find the villain Copperhead or hack into whatever files they could find while Aqualad and Superboy hunted whatever goons guarded this place. Artemis only had a rudimentary skill at hacking - her father had trained her for more combative purposes. Artemis could easily snap a man's neck, but she couldn't compete with the boy wonder at technology.**

_**"Artemis, Megan," **_**Robin said over the telepathic mind link,**_** "Copperhead is gone. Evacuate the building."**_

**"This was dissapointing," Artemis said to Megan, trying to start a conversation to stop the awkward silence between the two. **

**"I guess so. I'm glad that this was an easy mission."**

_**"Get out of the building now. The system is rigged to set off explosives."**_

**Before the two girls could exit the hallway they were in and get outside of the building, the explosions went off. Artemis kicked open the nearest door, gesturing for Megan hurry in with her. The explosion encircled the hall and flames began to engulf the building.**

_**"Robin, I don't think we're going to make it out," **_**Megan thought**_**.**_

**Another blast could be heard, but Artemis couldn't determine where in the building it had came from. As she turned around in the dark room, she couldn't see a window to escape from. She turned around, noticing Megan shaking fearfully.**

**Before Artemis could ask why Megan was shaking, the explosion she had just heard ripped through the hallway they were in, taking down the door. Without a second thought, Artemis pushed a cowering Megan out of the way, watching as the blast bombarded her face. As she lost consciousness, Artemis hoped that somehow Megan would survive.**

* * *

AN: I have a hard time writing Klarion, so any feedback (thanks Blaziken837) on his dialogue is great. Another thanks to Epic Mickeygirl, who I think might be the first person to write a Young Justice fic with Klarion as a main character that isn't a one-shot or drabble.


	3. Chapter 3

AN: Have fun with more Artemis/Klarion

Disclaimer: action-related violence

* * *

Artemis was going to be discharged form the medical bay at lunch and Klarion knew the perfect solution to mull things over with the team. He needed to act more like Megan and there was nothing the Green Martian did better than creating possibly cancerous food.

Klarion stared at the cake mix and eggs he had just bought early in the morning. He had four hours until Artemis would come and eat lunch to bake the worst cake of his life. He didn't even know how to cook, but that probably benefited him in this situation.

"Okay. Everything is here. Hmmm… Maybe I need ketchup. And pickles." Klarion forced Megan to hum and pace back and forth. Purposely baking something the wrong way seemed to need a lot of effort. He wanted Kaldur, Conner and Wally to puke from this. The cake was not made to celebrate Artemis' leave of the medic bay: it was made purely out of revenge for them not trusting Megan.

* * *

Before stopping to make lunch from the kitchen, Artemis went to her room for a shower. She felt grimy and tainted. Her nerves had been freaking out during this whole situation. The gushing, cold water from the shower only slightly calmed her.

_Did Klarion kiss me? It was good…_

No. She couldn't think of that. Artemis realized that she should be plotting to betray Klarion, but still hopefully be able to see after everything was over. But something within her didn't want to betray the witch-boy. That something wanted to help Klarion, maybe even love him. The affectionate feelings inside of her for him felt foreign and twisted.

_What is wrong with me? It has to be magic._

Artemis tried thinking of something else – anything that could distract her from warm and fuzzy feelings.

_Why did he have to act so impulsively? Now, we're going to have to try even harder to not get found out by the team. And what was flirting with Wally about? Ugh._

Artemis had been attracted to Wally – he was funny in a dorky way and was everything her father wasn't. Wally was good, wholesome, and caring. Wally could never kill someone out impulsively or for the sheer thrill.

_But Klarion could. He's the exact opposite of Wally. But Klarion is so much more powerful than Wally and my father._

Artemis didn't know if she was worried that Klarion might kill her. She didn't care as much as she should have that he was a criminal.

_Well not a criminal…he's an entirely different kind of being. There are no words to describe him. He's…_

Once again, Artemis thought of the kiss and she punched the shower wall angrily.

_I hate the way he makes me feel. Something is wrong with me._

* * *

"How are you? Who cares," Klarion began yelling exuberantly, "Look at my CAKE!"

Artemis stared at what appeared to be a rotting hunk of meat, but upon looking closer, was an actual cake, albeit one made with a mesh of broken potato chips, ketchup, chocolate, and barely-cooked cake batter with a lightly sprinkled layer of diced pickles.

"You've definitely got Megan down. Just act like a naïve little school girl and yesterday will be forgotten." Artemis stated coldly, trying not to meet Klarion's eyes. She could not think of that kiss again.

"Don't I make the PERFECT housewife?" Klarion's voice rung out from Megan's mouth even more high-pitched than usual.

"Sure," Artemis tried not to give him encouraging responses, "Where is the rest of the team?"

"Waiting for the delicious cake I made of course." Klarion rolled Megan's eyes and puckered his lips playfully. Artemis' eyes immediately set upon Megan's lips, which had shifted into Klarion's thinner and manlier mouth.

_He can't know, could he?_

Before she could ask, Klarion pulled her while holding his cake out into the living room to meet the team.

* * *

"Eat up," Klarion beamed.

Wally picked at his slice of cake experimentally like he was determining the properties of an unknown poison. Luckily, Robin was away patrolling Gotham with Batman.

"Don't you like my cake?" Klarion forced Megan to pout and her eyes to slightly tear up.

"What. I like it," Wally shoved the entire slice into his mouth, quickly regretting it. He silently thanked the accident years ago that gave him his powers and accelerated healing. Wally swallowed the cake, feeling it burn and grate his insides as it slowly slid down.

"Thanks for the treat, Megan." Kaldur said kindly, but Klarion read his mind to find out that he wasn't really eating the cake: he was using magic to make it disappear once he out it in his mouth.

With an incantation mumbled incoherently enough that even Superboy could not hear and decipher it, Klarion cancelled Kaldur's vanishing magic. Kaldur's throat bulged, ready to upchuck the cake that had just entered it. Once again, Klarion read Kaldur's mind. Kaldur did not believe that Megan had removed his spell, he believed that he had simply failed at it.

"Good. Eat up, Superboy."

Wally and Kaldur stared at Superboy, pitying him. The clone had taken several slices of Megan's cake onto his plate.

Wally interrupted, "How about Artemis eats some? The cake was made for her."

Kaldur met Wally's eyes, silently thanking the speedster for helping spare the clone from Megan's culinary torture.

"No that's okay."

_Think fast Artemis…_

'It's your cake. Eat it," Wally grinned evilly.

Klarion cut in, saving Artemis from being forced to eat, "Sorry, guys. Batman told me Artemis couldn't eat yet. Anyway, Artemis and I have to go shopping."

"You're going shopping?" Wally's mouth stood open, gasping.

"Yes, Kid Loser. I am a girl. Girls go shopping. Therefore, I go shopping. Does that prove it to you?" Artemis rolled her eyes.

"I think it's good that you are being nice to Megan," Kaldur said supportively, but Klarion knew from reading his mind that the Atlantean just wanted Megan to leave so he could throw the cake away.

"It's settled! This will be so fun!"

* * *

"What are we really doing then?"

"MAGIC!" Klarion bellowed, transforming into his own form. "I hate having to look like a girl all the time around your team." Klarion pouted at Artemis.

Klarion led Arteis to a clearing in the woods not that far from the tour. It was too far away for the team to watch them.

"Okay. Stand here," Klarion pointed with his claw-like hand. His hand's nails were black with a slightly red tint.

_The tint of blood…_

"There. Now feel your magic and try releasing it through your hands. Focus on where you want it to strike."

_Why is he so serious now?_

"Just listen to me, " Klarion spat, "We don't have all day to teach you the basics."

"Okay."

Aremis concentrated on her core and the feeling of dark magic inside of her. She opened her eyes, her thoughts lingering on the cold breeze in the clearing. She glanced around, her eyes resting on a tree several feet in front of her. As if she were aiming an arrow, Artemis rose her hand and released the energy building inside of her. It erupted wildly in a wave of blood red fire that not only hit the tree she had focused on, but also the surrounding trees.

"You need more control. Here, take me left hand. Try sensing how my body gathers and expels the magic."

Artemis felt a small center of overpowering dark energy within Klarion. The energy slowly gathered within Klarion flickering through him, up his arm and into his right hand.

_It feels so effortless the way he does it. But his magic is so dark…_

A blood red fiery blast swept from his gingers tips, which Artemis studied.

_His fingers are so long and smooth like a pianist's…what, stop thinking that! Concentrate!_

Artemis returned her attention to Klarion's blast that struck the tree she had previously been aiming for. It hit the tree and engulfed it in red flames that quickly charred what was left of it into a pile of ash.

"Now you try."

Artemis gathered her inner magic once more, projecting it into her hands and towards one of the few undamaged trees in the clearing. It struck the tree and burnt the majority of it, but it was nowhere near as destructive as Klarion's spell.

"That's good enough for now. Now let's try something more interesting."

Klarion clicked his fingernails, summoning a bound and gagged man, who Artemis had never seen before.

"Strike him with your energy blasts."

"I don't want to kill."

"You're doing it."

"I'm not going to kill, witch-boy."

"Artemis not wanting to kill? I'm not your Young Justice daycare squad, so don't pretend you don't want to."

"I don't!" Artemis screamed, not caring who heard her.

"I can read you mind. Don't forget that." Klarion stepped up behind her. His face was close enough against her ear that she could feel the warmth of his breath. He drew one of his pointed fingernails and traced it against her cheek.

"I know the thrill you experienced. Your father might have ordered you to kill, but it was you who enjoyed it in the end. You are a killer."

"I'm still not going to."

Klarion cut her cheek with his fingernails, chanting another unknown spell.

_If only there was a way to find out what he was saying..._

Artemis sight suddenly vanished, but the spell had done further damage. Her bones felt like splintering and piercing through her skin. Each breath made her lungs bulge and feel like deflating.

"Do it. I can make it worse."

"No…"

"I can also hurt your mom."

"NO!" Artemis shouted hoarsely. Her magic built up and shot out more viciously then before out of her hands and at the man. As the blast contacted him, Artemis' sight returned and she stood free of pain.

"Better than before. But still not dead."

Klarion stepped closer to the man, raising his arms to cast another energy blast and finish him, but Artemis rushed forward and grasped his arm.

"Please don't."

Klaron stared at her. Despite having killed before, her eyes were reddened from tears. Her usual sarcastic tough girl behavior had dissolved into an emotional mess. Klarion felt a tinge of remorse, but quickly dismissed it. He could let Artemis have her way…for now.

"Fine. This will let your practice healing spells. Come sit with me by him."

Klarion gripped her hand, holding it possessively as he led her to heal the man.

_This is my life now. I need to learn to make the best of it…with Klarion. Whatever that means._

* * *

AN: To **harrysgirl1993** - the pairing will be Artemis/Klarion. Wally/Artemis is more of a one-sided thing. Thanks again to **Indigoprincess37** and **Epic Mickeygirl **for reviewing again :) To **ygirl87**, I just want to lock the two in a room and force them to make out, but Klarion would probably use his magic to kill me if that was even a real situation. To **Little Miss Domm-and-Gloom**, I've been hinting at a Kaldur/Conner pairing since you suggested it, but am unsure if it should go anywhere.

Anyway, I mentioned earlier that finding Abra would happen sometime in this story. Should Abra be in prison or should he have escaped, thus causing Artemis and Klarion to have to find him?


	4. Chapter 4

"I'm going to be gone tomorrow to track Abra."

Artemis felt slightly saddened that he was leaving her, but quickly dismissed it as she grinned back at Klarion.

"And somehow my team won't notice you gone?"

"I don't know. Wouldn't it be fun if they did?"

* * *

Madame Xanadu had run away screaming when she had seen real magic. The sight of a vanishing Abra Kadabra had made her body pulse in fear. She had ran haphazardly away, occasionally stumbling against the walls of the rundown buildings beside her path.

She should have stopped conning innocent people, but in the rundown quarters of New Orleans, she would be a fool not to capitalize on a cheap and easy source of income. There wasn't much she could do since she had been too poor to go through college and move away from this city. Xanadu felt too proud to work a fast food job or mask her face in fake cheer for retail. Her morals had slightly eroded since she began conning people. Only rarely did she feel guilty, but in her opinion, she brought solace to her customers. There were far worse jobs for her...

She sat down at the table, adorned with a simple purple cloth and crystal ball in the center. Several small candles were placed around the table, providing the only light within the room. Her customer had entered her new shop, for she felt too scared to use the place where that old man had came to mock her and be kidnapped. For some reason, Xanadu could not look directly at her customer's face nor could she remember why she had decided to turn off all of the room's lights. Something compelled her, but she couldn't believe it was magic. Maybe magic wasn't real and what she had seen had been an elaborate prank.

"Madame Xanadu," the customer's voice spoke, smoothly without the sadness that rung in the voices of her usual customers. "I want to speak with a friend of mine."

"How long ago did your friend die?"

"He didn't die. That's the thing - he is missing, but you have seen him."

The customer's hand stretched like it was shaped from elastic, walking itself with its fingers across the table towards Xanadu. She didn't see the hand until it was touching her, immediately forcing her skin to erupt in goosebumps and her arm hairs to stand on end. She hadn't shaved since before the incident - she felt tired and too detached from the world to care about her appearance. Her breath sped up and came out jagged.

The hand grasped her arm, jolting her senses. "What do you mean?" Her eyes jetted to him fearfully.

"You saw my friend a few weeks ago. He came to..."

She cut the boy off, stuttering frantically, "P-please don't do this. I'm sorry I'm a fraud."

The boy rose from his side of the table, walking over towards her. His arm shrank back to its normal size the closer he came towards her.

"You're going to help me find him."

"I can't find your friend or his dead wife Inza."

The boy laughed and the sound of it rung through her ears, grating her eardrums.

"You think I want to find him? The holier than though lord of order?"

Madame Xanadu might not have known what a lord of order meant, but she could sense that this boy was a demon in comparison.

"What do you want from me? You are powerful… What do you need me for?"

"You're a smart one, aren't you? It must come from having to read your victims' moods or should I say customers'? Hmm."

The boy paused, taking a few seconds to inch his face closer and study her. In the darkness of the room, her skin tone was too hard to detect and could be mistaken for Artemis', but Xanadu's dark and unwashed hair ruined the allusion. Only his Artemis had shining, almost golden hair. Wait...why was he thinking of Artemis?

"I need you. So shut up and help me. You have the right aura for medium and psychic abilities. You haven't realized that you know what to tell those people, because on some level, you already know that you can read their minds."

"I..."

"Don't talk," Klarion spat before slapping her across the face. His black nails slightly cut across her. "Just listen."

"Okay," Madame Xanadu sat silent and perplexed by what he had revealed.

"I have been calling to Abra with my magic - drawing him to me, but he has not came or even tried responding. That's where you come in. I can use my magic to force you into an out-of-body trance to find him. Just like channeling a dead spirit, you will find and channel him. So he and I can have a nice little chat. It is dangerous and could kill any first time medium, so of course I'm making you do it." The boy snickered again and stared at her like he expected her to understand his jokes.

"Let's begin," Klarion grabbed her head with hid hands, prodding his fingernails into her and channeling his red magic into her. Her senses heightened, and then became overwhelmed as her sight became lost to darkness. Her other senses began shutting down; eventually her mind expelled itself from her body. She felt free of the pain her body had experienced, but felt afraid of the bleak, never-ending darkness that surrounded her. She didn't know where she was, but she felt a pull towards an unknown point in the darkness. She accepted its tug, letting it swiftly pull her as she glided towards an unknown destination. Hopefully she could find Abra and still come out of this situation alive.

* * *

"Artemis, you seem so different lately."

Artemis stopped eating the pepperoni pizza her mom had ordered. Her mom hadn't cooked a meal since before the accident that cursed her into a wheelchair-bound life. Artemis almost wished for the pre-car crash mom back, for that mom was less inquisitive about her life. Never mind it was because her mom had been too busy with crime before the car crash.

"I don't know what you're talking about."

"Don't give me that. A mother knows her own daughter more than you care to think."

"I'm fine," Artemis offered a false half-smile.

"If working on that Young Justice team has gotten too much for you, you should think about quitting."

"And do what? Go to crime? Back to dad and back to the killing?" Artemis' temper flared, for she could not stand her overbearing mother anymore.

_If only my new magic could make her stop this..._

"No! I want you to have a good life and a good education."

"Since when? Or do you just want to live vicariously through me?"

"You're my daughter. Show some respect!"

Artemis stood up, pressing her hands onto the table. She felt her magic drawing itself through her, ready to strike her mother and flee.

"I'm going to talk to your mentor about at least forcing you to temporarily leave the team. You're withdrawn and moody when I try to ask you about it."

"I'm not quitting the team."

"You'll do as I say!"

Artemis' forehead felt sweaty and warm. She was losing control. Without thinking, she raised her right hand and watched as red lightning shot from her and struck her mother. It was nothing like the red flame-lie energy blasts from before - the lightning felt more powerful and terrifying. Artemis had never felt such a rush.

Paula Crock flung back in her wheelchair, failing to grasp its sides as the lightning struck her. As she slipped into unconsciousness, she whispered a silent prayer. She wanted her daughter back and needed to still be alive to save her.

"Mom," Artemis regained her senses and sped around the table to stand next to her mom, checking for a pulse. Artemis felt the faint heartbeat of her mother as she started crying. "Where are you Klarion?"

* * *

AN: Should I also include any of the other magic-users from DC comics in this fic? Please review.


	5. Chapter 5

Sorry for the short chapter and putting off on Klarion saving the day, but I decided to focus on Robin and Wally for this chapter (it gives the story more direction).

* * *

Megan didn't know where she was or what she even was anymore. All she could sense was the feeling of being trapped and it defined her current existence. She couldn't see, hear, or use any of her other senses. She didn't feel hunger, but she also wasn't aware of the passage of time.

She began to feel the hold around her loosen – the pressure of her imaginary constraints seemed to crack in places. If she could just focus on those cracks, maybe she would finally become released from this existence. It was all that was left to concentrate on.

Although she couldn't see or move, she was able to focus on feelings the cracks in whatever surrounded her. One crack in particular, more broken than the rest, called out to her. It reverberated with a dark, twisted energy that threatened to ensnare her and pull her out from wherever she was, but she still focused on it. Freedom from this life was worth more than any pain she might endure.

As she finally trained her more on the crack and felt the dark energy slither beyond her mental prison and envelope her, she heard a boyish cackling. Her hearing had returned, but her other senses still remained unable for use. It should have been comforting for her, but the feeling of fear had returned along with her hearing.

If Megan's mouth could be used, she would have heard the piercing cry of her screaming.

* * *

Robin rested in his bed, finally without adoring his trademark mask or sunglasses. He was Dick Grayson now, despite that civilian life had increasingly felt foreign to him. Robin was his talents and accomplishments, but the past confined Richard Grayson. Batman had let him avoid patrol tonight and get some much needed sleep.

Robin lazily rubbed his eyelids, thinking back to the past week with his team. Artemis was the most like Robin in terms of not being a meta-human and relying on advanced martial arts. Despite all of their shared traits that could have drawn them closer, perhaps made them into better friends than even him and Wally, Robin felt a mix of jealousy and territorial annoyance to her. Robin did not want the archer usurping his role on the team, but other that that, he had found no reason to extremely hate her.

But he still felt suspicious of her actions – every movement of hers was studied and made Robin wonder if she was stealing Wally from him, perhaps also pushing Robin away from the team. Artemis was a woman, thus able to use her body and lure Wally away from him. Robin had noticed the sexual tension between the two, and had always tried joking about it, but when Robin took off his mask and became a more vulnerable Dick Grayson, his thoughts returned to Wally and paranoid fears.

Artemis becoming blind was a godsend to Robin, until she had been mysteriously cured. Robin kept up a kind façade for Artemis, but he hadn't needed to use it since she never seemed to hang around the male members of the team anymore.

Artemis, despite her opposite personality, had become a close friend to Megan. When Artemis did spend time with her team, Robin wasn't mad at Artemis anymore – he hated that Wally started to miss his banter with Artemis and try flirting with her. Artemis ignored Wally – the only times she talked more than one-word answers was with Megan.

Megan was able to elicit laughter and actual smiles from the team's archer lately, but their conversations were always in hushed whispers that Robin couldn't make out. Megan and Artemis acted more like lovers than friends. Robin had wanted to corner Conner and ask if he could hear them and confirm his suspicions of the two girls' relationship, but the clone had also been distant lately, preferring to spend time with Kaldur.

Artemis was no longer a threat to Wally and Robin's friendship, but Robin was too glad to be able to spend more uninterrupted time with his friend to care where the archer was always going off to instead of spending time with her team.

Wally was his again, perhaps everything could return back to the way it was before Artemis had joined the team. Robin finally drifted off to sleep, blissfully ignorant of two of his teammates.

* * *

Artemis held her mother, chanting archaic healing spells and pushing her magic into her mother. Her mother's wounds slightly healed, but her mother had started shaking during the past few minutes. Artemis closed her eyes, focusing on the feeling of her mother's aura, which was slowly disappearing.

Nothing was working – her magic was shoddy at best. The only option left was to end her mother's pain. Artemis knew that a mercy killing was just as impulsive and ignorant of consequences as turning to Klarion had been, but maybe things would also work out this time.

Before she could cast a fire blast to spare her mother from the pain she was experiencing, the room's lights abruptly turned off, signaling the arrival of a familiar aura to Artemis.

* * *

Klarion felt a sudden tug on his magical core along with a tinge of fear. It was sudden, unexpected, and gripped his senses so intensely that he stopped staring at an unconscious Madame Xanadu and collapsed to the ground. Klarion felt like crying for the first time in years.

Artemis, despite being bound to him as an apprentice, should not have caused such a reaction, but there was no mistaking that the emotional surge had came from her.

Being able to feel another's emotions to such an extreme suggested a far deeper bond than what Klarion had thought he had created with Artemis by magical pact…but Klarion choose to ignore those thoughts, quickly paralyzing Madame Xanadu's body and carrying it with him as he teleported away towards his archer.

* * *

"Uncle Barry," Wally started somewhat hesitantly. "Can I ask you something?"

"Sure, champ."

The older speedster slowed down to a brisk walk beside Wally as they went on an uneventful patrol that night.

"Well…there's someone I like…"

Before Barry responded, he burst out laughing at Wally's embarrassment, "Is this certain someone a female archer on your team?"

Wally didn't realize that the tension between him and Artemis was a running joke among their mentors, much to the ire of an overprotective Green Arrow. Barry thought he should encourage it, thus causing even more opportunities to poke fun at Ollie's reactions.

"What?" Wally's eyes widened and locked with Barry's.

"You should go for it. Flirt with her…"

"But she's been ignoring me!"

Barry once again laughed, but tried to remain somewhat serious to Wally, "She's probably just playing hard to get. She must like you."

Wally stopped talking about Artemis to Barry for the rest of their patrol, but his thoughts lingered on her and began to believe that she returned his feelings. The next time Megan tried hanging out with Artemis, Wally would stop them and ask the blonde out on a date.

* * *

AN: Don't worry about Artemis/Wally. It will be one-sided. Should I focus on Conner and Kaldur's opinions next chapter? Also, should Robin secretly have a crush for Wally? I've written that the two only share a friendship that Robin is very possessive of, but if it entertains you, it'd be interesting enough to write even if it would only be unrequited love.


	6. Chapter 6

AN: I'm proud of how quickly I wrote this, despite its shorter than usual length. Enjoy. Thanks to the anonymous reviews, which shaped the direction this chapter took. Robin will only have a possessive friendship with Wally and not a one-sided romance (but Robin doesn't even appear in this chapter). Anyways, the Kaldur/Conner subplot will be important, but will NEVER turn into mpreg (and will never be as important as hot Klarion/Artemis). I just wanted to write Kaldur's fears/drives.

* * *

Klarion teleported into the room in a blaze of red smoke, quickly heaving Madame Xanadu's body to the floor. Before he could rush to Artemis' side, pain shot throughout his body.

Megan's dormant mind, which he thought had been unconscious when he possessed her, roared back to life, competing with him for control of her body. Klarion forced Megan's legs to stomp forward, but his control over them was waning. Each step became more exhausting, before he suddenly collapsed onto the floor.

* * *

Conner sat back with his arms on the beach, observing a seemingly happier than usual Kaldur swim by its shore and find comfort in his element. Everything was serene; he no longer cared about Artemis and her temporary blindness. He and Kaldur were able to spend even more time than usual together since their squad didn't hang out as a team anymore.

Despite Conner's view of him, the Atlantean was an expert about fooling Conner and presenting a positive personality, hiding his personal problems from the clone. Conner also never noticed Kaldur's attempts to isolate him from the rest of the Young Justice team. Kaldur had been all too glad that Artemis had stopped hanging around the team as much as she usually did. Kaldur silently thanked his king that Artemis no longer flirted with _his_ Conner.

Worries plagued Kaldur that Superboy would one day become less naïve and eventually leave him, because, unlike Artemis, he could not give the clone children. Artemis was cunning and tough as nails despite her lack of meta-human powers. She was a more than suitable mate for the clone.

The Atlantean was overtly eager that Megan and Artemis were spending time together. If they stopped, he would pressure them into continuing. Artemis and Megan's newfound friendship must be preserved if Conner was to remain his.

It worried Kaldur that the clone had never specifically stated his attraction to either gender. Kaldur could be nothing but a fling for a sexually inexperienced Conner. The clone had stopped encouraging Megan, but he either didn't care or didn't notice Artemis' former aggressive flirting with him.

As the Atlantean rose from the water towards his mate, he stared at the clone's chiseled muscles. Conner was perfection personified and completely unaware of his beauty. The clone was unscarred, but also untainted by a past like Kaldur's. The Atlantean would always be the son of Black Manta, but Artemis had credibility with the Justice League as Green Arrow's niece. Maybe it was in Kaldur's nature to be like his father, for he sometimes felt greedy and territorial of Conner. Although he thought himself selfish, he continued reveling in the clone's ignorance and wanting to slightly control and nurture the him. Conner could find kinder and female lovers if Kaldur was unable to ensnare him.

Kaldur focused on a mantra of becoming equal competition with Artemis: he must transcend the limits of being a man and find some way to give Conner a child. Even though Conner was young, carefree, and wouldn't want a child now, Kaldur feared that the clone would think differently in several years. As everyone around them grew older, married, and had children, Conner would crave what the Atlantean couldn't give.

Although he only had rudminentary knowledge of magic, Kaldur believed that if an answer to his childbearing problem existed, it had to be conceived with magic. The Atlantean clung to the hope of its possibility if he ever wanted to keep Conner. Kaldur felt slightly secure about the Artemis situation after pressuring Wally into dating her right before the clone and the Atlantean had come to the beach. With Megan as a friend and Wally as a boyfriend, Artemis couldn't steal the clone from him.

Kaldur must produce children, but Wally must also succeed in courting the blonde archer. Even if Artemis was eliminated as a temporary threat, Kaldur needed time to find a solution before other women came along in the future.

* * *

Abra awoke, not knowing what body he had been pulled into. After Klarion had abandoned him, the Justice League had arrested the mage, but because they had only believed him to be shoddy at best with magic in comparison to Klarion, the League had placed him in a standard, non-supervillain prison.

He had been regarded as a common criminal and betrayed by his only friend and teacher, but Abra still had the will to escape that prison. Transfiguring into a fly to escape had been simple; Klarion had taught him basic animal transformations early in his training. Although Abra could not shift into the form of other humans, for that required a stronger magical reserve and extensive blood magic, he still felt proud to be able to become animals. Magic made him feel superior to other humans: a superiority that had only worsened his ego and refusal to ever call another boy-wizard master.

Abra Kadabra lived a wanderer's life since his escape, never staying in any town long enough for people to be able to get to know him. He continued to practice magic, but mainly to hide the petty theft he committed to keep on moving. When a female medium's astral projection had violently found him and pulled Abra into her body, he knew that only one wizard was capable of that level of magic.

Klarion the Witch Boy had summoned his former apprentice, probably to finish or use him, but Abra would never die without at least wounding the boy.

He opened the eyes of the body he was in, not expecting the scene before him. Klarion lay unconscious on the floor, his aura battling for dominance with another's as the body he was possessing shifted back and forth from the Green Martian's to Klarion's slimmer, boyish form. The infamous Witch Boy who had betrayed Abra lay weak before him. All that bound the body Abra was possessing was a simple paralysis spell, easily removed as he rose up from the floor towards his former master.

Klarion could never truly be killed, but murdering his vessel would suffice for Abra. The disgruntled former apprentice was too obsessed with revenge to notice the blonde archer sneak behind him, raising her hands to cast a spell.

* * *

Wally looked into the mirror, adjusting his hair into a messy behead look. Maybe Artemis would appreciate a late-night visit to her house instead of him calling her. It seemed romantic and spontaneous.

Kaldur had reassured Wally that he should pursue her, so it couldn't be just his uncle that believed Artemis liked him. Wally finished fixing his hair, confident that Artemis would date and perhaps even kiss him by the end of the night. Everything must go according to plan...

* * *

Artemis saw Klarion arrive, tossing some woman's body to the floor before collapsing to the ground. Seeing Klarion had made Artemis stop from trying to end her mother's pain. When the unknown woman had stood up and inched towards Klarion with a devious grin, Artemis acted instinctively and snuck up behind her.

She remembered the feeling of the red lightning surging from her hand and the anger that had sparked it. Focusing on that emotion and praying silently in desperation for her magic to act the way she wanted, Artemis unleashed the blast.

Red lightning shot from her right hand, striking the woman against the wall. The woman hit her head, passing out as she fell to the ground. Artemis rushed to Klarion's side, grasping his unstable body like she had done with her mother's. Klarion and her mother both seemed to be dying as the doorbell rang. Adrenaline pumped through Artemis as she braced herself for whoever was at the door.

* * *

AN 2: Sorry, I keep postponing what will happen and if Artemis' mom will survive. My next chapter WILL answer it - that's all that the chapter will be about (it won't focus on any characters expect Klarion, Artemis, her mom, Xanadu/Abra, and Wally). Give me feedback on how you expect everything to go down - who will live etc (I love replying to reviews).

I'd love to see more Klarion stories out there - even if he isn't that in character (I totally ground up canon Klarion into paint and flung it across this story like a Jackson Pollock painting. Lol). If someone would write smutty one-shots with Klarion/Artemis or Klarion/and character that is not Wally, I might just cry and do some cheerleader moves. For those that like reading a more in character Klarion, read both stories by **Epic Mickeygirl**.


	7. Chapter 7

Wally gulped, his finger harshly tapping the door bell before he anxiously sped back and forth across the lawn to the door. Although Artemis would soon date him, he couldn't stop his nerves.

The door slammed open, revealing the blonde behind its screen. Artemis looked tired; her eyes were slightly red and watery.

"What, Baywatch?"

"Ah…er…Iwantedtoaskyououtonadate," Wally inched away slowly, stopping several feet away from the archer just incase of another of her famously violent outbursts. A deep, searing blush overcame his face, causing Wally to look downwards.

"I'm not dealing with this!" Artemis yelled, slamming the door and quickly locking it. Hopefully, Wally would not use his phasing abilities to enter…

The speedster's head jetted upwards, the blush instantly fading away from his face as his eyebrows twisted in fury.

"You're mine!" Wally yelled at the door, pounding on it childishly, but Artemis ignored him as she swept back to Klarion's body which was nestled on her couch.

* * *

Abra opened Xanadu's mouth shakily, forcing a choked gasp to release itself. Although Klarion's new apprentice or whatever the amateur blonde teenager called herself wasn't as skilled as he was magically, she compensated for her knowledge with sheer, raw power.

Xanadu's body would have died if Abra had not clung onto her spirit, forcing her body to keep moving. Even the simplest breath required too much effort from Abra. Madame Xanadu's body was failing; his decision to kill Klarion's vessel could not be accomplished. Clinging onto Xanadu's spirit severed his ability to fully suppress her; she could regain control temporarily just to allow her body to die.

* * *

"Artemis?" Megan's green form enveloped her body, no longer transforming into a strange hybrid of her and the witch-boy.

"Megan," Artemis whispered, shocked that Klarion was not in control. Megan's voice run with weakness and naivety, which was a far cry from Klarion's usual outrageous confidence.

"Where are we? What happened?"

"What do you remember?"

"The team went on a mission…you were blinded?" Megan sat up straighter on the couch, steadying herself upwards with her trembling arms. She almost slooped back down in the couch several times, but wether by sheer will power to remain strong or dumb Martian luck, she sat up straightly.

"Yes…somehow my sight came back."

Megan's eyebrow shot up questioningly: uncharacteristic of the Martian. Even if she no longer possessed accurate memories, suspicion had been implanted in her. Artemis felt the need to reassure her friend and get rid of the nearby woman's body that was just starting to move.

"How?"

"I don't know," Artemis paused, biting her lips, "But today, you came over here for some reason, then that woman over there tried to kill us. Something strange happened and now she's over there against the wall."

Megan tilted her head, studying the fallen woman, "Her mind is turbulent."

"What does that mean?"

"I don't quite know how to say this…it's more of a feeling. I can sense two minds in her. One wants to die while the other is struggling to live...we need to contact the Justice League. Uncle J'onn might know what is wrong with her."

"Do you think she'll be able to speak or is she too weak?"

"Maybe? Artemis, she's dying…wait, why do I sense Wally nearby?" Megan's telepathic detection of Wally made her forget to ask Artemis about the reason behind her question.

"Oh…that…uh," Artemis tried faking a blush, looking away embarassingly.

"Hello Megan," Megan's voice slightly cracked but came out closer to her normal tone than several minutes before. "Wally likes you. Is that why he's here? Or did you contact him about the woman?"

Artemis sighed, silently celebrating that she could fake attraction to Wally despite the sheer outrageousness of the situation. Megan, despite her will to appear as normal and cheery as usual, was too weak. Her body ached, but her mind still suffered from Klarion's control; she could not think rationally right now. Artemis was all too willing to use the Martian and betray her willingly this time to return Klarion.

"Yes, Wally was here to ask me out before the woman came."

"Good for you! At least something good happened tonight. I'll go get him."

"Really? Are you sure you're okay?"

Megan's face beemed, "Why wouldn't I be okay? Everthing is turning out for the better now."

Artemis felt slightly creeped out by Megan, but she wouldn't object. Megan talking to Wally might give her enough time to torture an answer out of the woman on how to bring back Klarion.

* * *

"Wally," Megan opened the door smiling, but she ignored the raised fists of Wally as he lowered them to his sides.

"What...oh Megan...what are you doing here, beautiful?" Wally's body relaxed, cooly shifting back into his easy-going demeanor.

"Wally, some woman attacked Artemis and me. We need to contact the Justice League. My telepathy isn't working right now, so I can't contact Uncle J'onn. You'll have to go. Unless you have a communicator on you."

"No I don't..."

"I don't either. I don't think Artemis has one, but you can use your super-speed."

"I guess," Wally paused, trying to make sense of the situation.

"So go now," Megan smiled even wider before slamming the door on the speedster.

* * *

"Tell me how to bring Klarion back!" Artemis hissed, slamming the woman''s body against the wall. She heard several of the woman's bones crack, but that didn't stop Artemis from kicking her in the stomach.

"Wah...wa..."

"Tell me!"

"Ahhh...," the woman's voiced whimpered, before her head rose forward, staring directly into Artemis' eyes challengingly, "I can't barely speak, child, and you have to hit me?"

"Just answer me," Artemis twisted Xanadu's arm, but the possessed woman still maintained her defiant gaze despite the slight twitching of her body.

"I'll answer you," the woman purred, before breaking out into a hacking cough, "But you'll have to heal me."

"I'm not that stupid."

"Sure, but what other option do you have?"

"You need to live. You can't keep living if I do this!" Artemis stepped a few inches away, before raising her legs into a swift kick against the side of Xanadu's face. The sound of Xanadu's teeth chipping only made Artemis grin wider.

"Stupid little girl. Why does Klarion-"

Before Abra could continue, the lingering will of Madame Xanadu reclaimed her body, "I don't have much time. When Abra returns, you need to knock him out. None of that theatre-style kicking. It will help me control my body lo-"

"Er...," Abra began awkwardly, pushing the will of Xanadu back into remission, "You wanted me to help you?"

Artemis smirked, "I don't think I'll choose that option anymore."

"It's the only option you'll get."

"Klarion was right to abandon a spinless parasite like you."

"What?"

Artemis lunged at Abra, pressing Xanadu's body closer against the wall. She started flinging punches at Xanadu's head, bludgeoning it without regard to whether the woman lived or died.

"Thankyou," Xanadu's voice slithered out before her body finally collapsed to the ground for the last time.

* * *

"I contacted Batman and Robin. They were the closest to Artemis' house."

"That's so good, Wally," Megan said while she slightly twirled to the side of the door.

"Yeah...so..." Once again, Wally felt unnerved by Megan.

"Ohhh...do you hear that noise? Let's go check it out."

"'Check it out'? What? Like some Scooby Doo mystery? Jinkies, Velma."

Megan wrapped her arm around Wally's chest, sending chills through the speedster. His usual accelerated heartbeat abruptly slowed down. "It'll be fun. With that big, bad villain all gone, us three can have a good time."

Wally, struggling in the Martian's hold, didn't retort or question her. Allowing her to guide him into the house to Artemis would mean he could escape the crazy Martian...and have another chance at wooing his blonde.

"I know Artemis will just love to see you."

* * *

Artemis paced around the living room, only faintly hearing Wally and Megan speaking outside. The Martian had waited by the door for who knows how long while Artemis had been questioning the woman...

_If knocking out the woman caused whoever was controlling her to lose power...maybe I can do the same thing with Megan. I just need to try sensing if he's still there...then everything can go back to normal..._

The blonde hated braving unpredicatable situations; only with Klarion guiding her had she been able to try learning the unknown realm of magic. He stabilized her much like her father had before him. Artemis' father had trained her in a variety of martial arts, molding his daughter into becoming a deadly warrior and cunning actor; that training had allowed her to face the world without fear. Lawrence Crock had defined the world into easily manageable pieces for his daughter. Kill this...steal that...Everything was pre-planned. As much as she hated her father, Artemis realized that Klarion gave her the same security.

Klarion fulfilled her, both treating her as an equal and as a mentor. She had never been meant to become one of the bland, drone-like heroes of the Justice League. The witch boy offererd the darkly alluring alternative to the League that Artemis could fight for.

Megan would have to be cornered away from Wally and whatever League members came to investigate. Artemis had unknowingly bartered Megan's body for her eyesight, but now she full-heartedly embraced her choice.

"Artemis?" Wally called, jetting away from Megan's loosened hold.

"Wally?

"What is going on?" Wally inched closer to her, intimately pressing his mouth close to her ear.

"What do you mean?" Artemis whispered back as she shifted her heard to face Wally eye to eye.

"Something's wrong with Megan. Even if you won't date me, we need to find out whatever this villain did."

"Everything's fine..."

"Wait...where's Megan?" Wally moved away from the archer, speeding around the house, but to no avail. "She was just by us."

"Where's the body?"

"The body?" Wally eyes widened.

"The woman who attacked Megan and I died," Artemis' mind wavered, trying to remember something important, "She also attacked my mom...I don't know if she's okay." For extra effect, Artemis concentrated on the memories of seeing her dying mother, blinking her eyes rapidly as she forcibly created tears. Clinging to the simple desire to see Klarion once again, Artemis cast aside any lingering guilt over her mother.

Wally sighed, resting his had comfortingly on her back, "And now Megan and the body are mysteriously gone?"

"Yes..." Artemis felt the beginnings of a panic attack embrace her, shakily afraid of Klarion's fate. Her mother had died, but then again, who hadn't she seen die before? Artemis had killed dozens with the League of Shadows; all that mattered was if Klarion lived or died.

"Arty, we need to go and contact the League. We're not waiting for them - it's not safe here."

"Thankyou Wally. Sorry you had to see me like this."

"It's fine...er...let's go." Wally looked torn between comforting and making another move on her.

* * *

Abra laughed, teleporting a paralyzed Megan away as he fled the oblivious teens. Something was off about the Martian: she had been too eager to seperate from her embracing friends and study Xanadu's body.

The Martian had been right in that in this body, one will wanted to die while the other wanted to live. Xanadu had unknowingly told Artemis a crude yet effective method on how to permanently repress her own will, causing Abra to regain control. The last dying power of Xanadu's will had been enough to restore the barest reserves of his magic.

Klarion was still alive within the Martian's body; Abra could sense his darkened magical aura, but the question remained as to why was Klarion's will remained dormant while Megan's regained control.

"Oh...Abra, Abra. Abra," Klarion voice suddenly resonated from the Martian as Abra's teleportation spell suddenly dropped them off in a forest unknown to the former apprentice. "That was a mean little TRICK!"

The witch boy cast off the spell binding him, stepping up as he forced the Martian into shifting back into his form. "Well, I'll admit that little Miss Christmas colors had me there for a bit, but really, Abra? I couldn't let Artemis deal with seeing me kill you. I actually though you'd come back to me."

"I hate you. I hate ever becoming your apprentice."

"Blah blah blah how original. I'm moved. I'm touched. I'm tearing up."

"Burn in hell."

"Idiot. What is hell compared to the realm of Chaos?"

The sound of Klarion's grating laughter rippled through the air as Abra closed Xanadu's eyes. Even through his magic had slightly came back, teleporting had exhausted it to a point where fighting the witch boy was impossible.

Even in death, the sound of the witch boy's laughter run through his ears as he became lost to darkness.

* * *

AN: Sorry for not updating in a while - I temporarily put this off to write some one-shots. Anyway, if you like Young Justice fics with magic-wielding characters see/subscribe to the community "**YJ Magic beings**" by **Epic Mickeygirl**.

Okay, important question - I'm thinking that this fic will only have a few more chapters. Should Artemis and Megan/Klarion still try being apart of the team and hiding what happened or should they "run off into the sunset"?


	8. Chapter 8

Artemis followed Wally outside of her house; slight tremors raged through her body, but somehow, she remained standing. She had never felt so wounded, yet still able to hold herself together like she was broken doll shoddily cemented back into one piece. Her mother's death and the otherwise laughable soap-opera level of drama to her situation still rattled her nerves and forced her breath out into hectic pants that thankfully weren't commented upon by Wally. The speedster was too unstable to deal with her emotions now anyway.

"How long until the League shows up?" Artemis spoke dryly.

Wally stopped twirling his communicator, turning his head sluggishly towards Artemis, no longer with his famous ADHD-levels of energy. The pit of Wally's throat seemed frozen, captured in the unknowable fear for his team. Nevertheless, Wally forced out an answer that wouldn't betray his tattered mind, "Only a few minutes."

"Wally…" Artemis tried saying his name comfortingly, but the energy was beyond her.

"I'm not used to dealing with death. I don't even know how you would be feeling," Wally's voice broke out huskier than usual without bravado or cocky playfulness.

"It's okay…" Artemis should have been grieving for her mother, but given her alternating sassy or emotionless exterior, Wally wouldn't expect any waterworks. Even a single tear might be uncharacteristic of her personality. Artemis felt slightly insane even analyzing how she should be acting, but her mother's death had affected Wally more than it had her.

Whereas Wally saw her mother's death as the ultimate failure that could harbinger an end to the team, Artemis saw only the gleaming horizons rushing to envelope her. Maybe magic could resurrect her...but the thought left a distaste in her mouth. It sounded like too much work and could only result in pushing her back into the line of Justice League goodness and morality. Nothing bound her except her willingly chosen bond with Klarion.

_Nevermind that a future by Klarion's side would probably be spent in the fiery pits of Hell…_

Artemis cleared her throat, preferring to look away at the surrounding houses than face Wally's eyes, which shook sheepishly. "This was too planned even though it failed. Someone knows who I am – probably even the identities of the rest of the team."

"Who would do it?" A small spark of Wally's former personality returned in his excitement, but fear still clung to his question.

"I don't know. Someone close to our team…" _Like me, but I'm not going to admit to killing my mother. So just go along with what I say._

"Like a mole?"

"Sure, but I doubt it's one of the older Justice League members."

"So it's one of us sidekicks? That can't be possible!"

"It can't be me since I was the one who was attacked. Megan and you can be ruled out because you two wouldn't be coming back to the scene of the crime."

"Why is Megan ruled out?"

"Wally, honestly? Megan? That's like calling Strawberry Shortcake an axe murderer. I like the girl, but she's too nice."

"Okay…so that leaves Robin, Aqualad, and Superboy."

"Unless he's actually an imposter, it can't be Robin. We don't know much about Kaldur's background and Conner could still be under the G-Gnomes' control."

"But they're our teammates!"

"Someone who knows us either came themselves or fed information to those who want to kill us." _So what if I've been reporting to my father this whole time. As long as 'Megan' and I aren't suspects…_

"I just don't know. We'll have to bring it up with the team."

Artemis attention moved away from the houses and focused on the eerie purplish tinge to the night sky. For a second, a small wave of dark red light rippled through the area of the sky she was looking at, reverberating with a familiar, dark-charged magic…

* * *

"Finally! What took you so long and why did they send only you?"

Wally pushed himself up from the steps of Artemis' home, rushing forward with a recharged exuberance towards Superman. Artemis stood back, eyeing the situation with rabid curiosity.

Before Wally could retaliate or capture him in a ridiculous hug, Superman punched Wally. The speedster' body slammed against the ground, for although Klarion couldn't assume Superman's Kryptonian strength when transforming into the man of steel, the witch boy knew enough strength-enhancing spells to pack a punch. Wally's body hit the ground quite harshly, forcing Kid Flash into unconsciousness.

"I'm surprised you didn't put on a show first. I'm already bored." Artemis strolled over to Klarion, who was shifting back into his usual form.

"We don't have enough time. The barrier around your house is only temporary."

"So how many League heroes are on the other side?"

"I put…just a little too much power behind the barrier," Klarion beamed devilishly.

"The entire League. Or the majority that was available. Fun."

"Hey, at least I came back."

"For what? You didn't even kill Wally," Artemis huffed and crossed her arms.

"All in time, but we need him to live now. He needs to report that you've been kidnapped. Who would be the most believable member on your team to betray you?"

"Conner if we play the G-Gnome angle, but if we really want to divide the League, we should choose Robin. Wally admitting that his best friend came after me is powerful enough to ruffle a few feathers."

Klarion squatted next to Wally, tracing patterns on the speedster's head and focusing his magic infused with telepathy through the designs.

"Done. Wally now only remembers him showing up to ask you out, you two hanging out, making out, having unprotected…"

"WHAT?"

"Scratch that, he remembers you two watching TV, then Robin coming in to kill your mother and pin it on you. Somehow Robin didn't know that Wally was there and it led to a dramatic confrontation…or something."

"So what happens if J'onn reads his mind?"

"Relax, the memory was created more detailed than that. It just gets too boring to not lie to you."

Artemis blushed before stammering, "I'm just asking!"

"Do you regret becoming my apprentice?" Klarion quickly changed the topic, enticing Artemis with a bemused smile.

"No…"

"Even if dark magic is a curse?"

"Magic isn't a curse."

"What if it causes your doom? Can you handle betraying your friends? They are your only ties left to your so-called 'justice'. Your mother is dead and your father deserves to die. Your sister hates you enough to repeatedly attempt to kill you."

"I was only doomed to fly high and make something of myself. I can become more than anything the League could have forcibly molded me into."

"But what about what your remaining family and friends?"

"I promised to serve you." Artemis faintly remembered challenging and sarcastically deriding Klarion, but those memories seemed foreign and fuzzy. Already, her mind was rewriting itself into her new role of servitude. Those memories could be easily forgotten just like the people in her life, leaving no one of importance besides the witch boy.

Once again, Klarion smiled honestly, his eyes shining possessively at her response.

* * *

AN: Anyway, sorry again. Thanks for the reviews/favorites/alerts. I'm surprised that this fic kept getting hits over two months since its last update. Who just loved seeing Klarion again towards the end of "Revelation" (it's been that long since I last updated). Is it okay that Robin is going to be falsely accused of being the mole in this story? (or are there better people to blame?)


	9. Chapter 9

I'm sorry for the long wait. Nevertheless, thanks for the support, reviews, alerts, etc. I was surprised that people still cared for this fic (which wasn't very much the case when it started despite a few loyal reviewers whom I love). Maybe we're all deranged and in love with Klarion :) (but he is Artemis', at least for this fic).

I based the Klarion/Robin fight off of Shadow Mission :)

* * *

Chapter 9: It's Not the Red of the Dying Sun

* * *

Although the two had escaped gloriously in blaze of dark magic, for even Artemis could stop making snide remarks and admire the primal power of Klarion's spells, she was currently bored. The blonde sat meditating too calmly despite the discord-filled magic that had grown within her. No, grown wasn't the right word. The magic that Klarion had originally planted within her felt like it had boiled, mutilated, and gutted her, mashed her tendons haphazardly back together and repeated the process. Now, the magic had calmed and felt as natural to her as breathing; she paused and focused on her magical core; it was no longer the magic that Klarion had given her. The power within Artemis sang only for her; she had power in her own right through training and studying under the witch boy.

What would her mother think if she knew that Artemis had enjoyed it? The sheer, sinful swelling of dark magic that had both wisened and strengthened her?

Opening her eyes to bask in the greyish, colorless light of the mountainous shadow realm, Artemis' mind returned to thoughts of the Justice League. Only a week had past since her mother had died; cutting the last of her emotional ties to a simple, mortal life. How angsty...

Artemis snickered at her irrelevant thoughts of time and magic, but stopped as she heard Klarion approach from behind.

"Robin's been arrested. It's all over the NEWS!" Klarion cackled out like a raving theatre reject, quite possibly echoing through the pocket realm, but there were no worries. All that existed here was Klarion and herself; it was poetic really.

"You're embarrassing me," Artemis flickered her eyes, staring at the witch boy in mock-anger.

"Ooooooooooooooooh," Klarion's mouth dropped into a childish 'o'. "Like I care!" The witch boy growled in a lower, more grated tone, before his face melted back into a calm, albeit annoyingly devilish grin. "Robin is coming here soon."

"Of course he is...and is there any reason why?"

"No. I'm just bored. Summoning monsters and _demonic_ rituals got a little too messy after a while."

Artemis paused before responding, studying the witch boy. His black clothing and pale skin fit the black, white, and withered grey of his shadow realm. In contrast, she was color: living, breathing and bold color. Her blond hair was drawn in a ponytail, but still silky and shimmering as if ripped off the head of a Vogue model. Unlike the ivory skin of her master, she was simply tan: the darkened hues of desert sand. Only her dark grey eyes, almost to the point of pure blackness, fit this realm.

"I'm really that boring? You kidnapped me, witch boy."

"SO!" Klarion bellowed, waving his hands in the air. "I regret it everyday..." His face downturned into fake-crying, eventually raising itself to sneer once again at her. Before she had joined Klarion, Artemis would have relished in clocking him, perhaps even flat-out ending the runt of a wizard's life.

"I can think of ways to keep you entertained..." Artemis sat up, dusting herself off from the ground. She stepped closer to Klarion, inwardly snickering at the glint in his eyes. The witch boy could never hide his emotions; she might have entered into this as his apprentice, but she knew how to twist Klarion into responding to her.

Without having to provoke him further, Klarion launched his lips onto Artemis', possessively and sloppily. She wouldn't have expected more or less. Somewhere in the distant grey mists of the pocket dimension, the dying sun burned a slight tinge of a brilliant red at the meeting of the two teens. Artemis and Klarion were a study of contrasts: she was a beacon of color becoming enveloped by his black and white exterior. Her pastel pink, almost toned-down red lips burned under the witch-boy's kiss.

A week hidden away in the shadow realm had turned into a nauseating, confusing, yet fulfilling bliss. She definitely didn't hate his kisses…

* * *

Robin awoke in harsh, grainy grey landscape, plagued my mist-stained skies and dying trees. Several feet away from him, grew one such tree, twisted and charred a black to rival his own hair. Perhaps grew was not the right word…the tree looked like a forgotten weapon plunged into the ground as if in an attack. The ground cracked and ebbed from the tree, a violent tremor of a past battle.

This was nothing he could have dreamed, not even the former nightmares of his parents dying had created an atmosphere as foreboding. Robin took in a sharp breath, quickly regretting it as a gritty, sand-filled air grated the insides of his mouth. It didn't make sense that even the air should try to kill him; this heightened sense of feeling was uncommon for his dreams. In contrast to the often-fuzzy memories that dominated his sleep, this world felt all too real or perhaps it was more than real…a surrealist nightmare designed to kill him.

That only left the question about who was behind this dream world. Gotham's criminals had never done anything like this…and Dick highly doubted that a drug-induced hallucination could feel this real. It had to be someone who knew him from Young Justice; it was probably some low-rate villain. Batman and the team would soon rescue him…or maybe he wouldn't even need rescuing.

Robin started walking away from the tree, studying the eerie but monotonous landscape. He needed to believe that he could survive this; his team _must_ come.

A cackling broke out from the faraway ledge of black cliff in the distance. No, it was not some low-rate villain; Klarion the witch boy stood smirking down at the boy wonder. Robin glared back, trying to recall the last mission he had seen the witch boy, but a grey haziness to match the misty skies of this realm blocked his mind from remembering. Robin tried focusing on other memories: of Bruce, his team, and how he got here, but his mind either produced a remorseless, grey nothingness or the barest, blurred image of what had happened. He knew the names of his teammates, his family, and other useless facts, but the circumstances leading up to his arrival here were lost to him.

For the first time since waking up here, Robin broke into a sweat, twitching at the loss of his memory. Fear was not something he was used to; his team and Batman had always been there with him to fight villains. Now, he didn't even have the comfort of his memories.

"What's wrong, Robin? Don't you like my shadow dimension?"

"I'm not impressed," Robin calmed himself, at least his exterior to taunt back at his captor.

"You don't even have super powers. Do you really think you're a match for me, Boy Blunder?"

Inwardly, Robin wanted to scream 'no.' He had training, his muscles tensed awaiting a fight with the witch, but his memories were something he needed. Robin felt like a child, a baby devoid of any practical life experience.

"I can defeat you again," Robin sneered, but he truthfully didn't know if he had ever defeated the witch boy before.

"Really, baby bird? I bet you can't even last 20…no, 10 minutes here. I'm really betting on 5, but maybe I'll get bored and make things easier for you." With that, the witch boy dissipated into a grey mist, away from the cliff.

"Ooooooh, I forgot," Klarion's voice cooed loudly, vibrating throughout the shadow dimension. Robin tried looking around for the witch boy, grasping a batarang, but to no avail. This was Klarion's world: his black and white playpen to torture the bird. "Play nice with my friends!"

Finally, the witch boy's voice stopped much to Robin's relief. Klarion's voice was like a vocal taser or a deadly acid, burning the boy wonder's ears. Some things weren't just annoying, but deadly obnoxious. Robin smirked to himself, relishing in teasing the witch boy.

Before Robin could turn towards the cliff and begin climbing, a pronged hand-like form jetted into his side, pushing him several fete away into the ground. Robin's head darted up, focusing on the shadowy form before him. It was like nothing he had ever seen, but then again, so was the entire nightmare world. The creature didn't really have a definite form, it was a black shadow that recalled the children from Fable 3…

"You couldn't even be original, witch boy? Your friend looks copyrighted!"

The creature lunged at him, swinging its arms, which were more like curved, thick swords. Whatever species this shadow creature was, its lack of fingers only highlighted its intent: to kill Robin.

Kicking himself up, Robin brandished his eskrima sticks. The twin sticks, firmly grasped in his hands, gave him a momentary comfort as he ran, then dove into a jump at the creature. Maybe he didn't even need Batman…

Before Robin could even scream, the shadow creature's pressed its arms together side-by-side, fusing them together into one weapon. The monster dove forward, breaking past Robin's sticks, before puncturing the boy wonder's chest.

Despite the size of the minion's two-fused arms, the shadow weapon pushed its way through Robin, breaching his back.

Robin, clinging to the barest slivers of life, looked down to see a fountain of red…his own blood…pour down the creature's arms and his own body. He should have been more careful…he should have been more…

"More like me, Dickie-bird?" Klarion's form suddenly assembled itself from a puff of grey mist that appeared next to the shadow mission. "I thought you would last longer then this…my lady was most displeased.

"My lady?" Robin chocked out, his mind diving in and out of surrending to the darkness of death. His blood continued to spill, giving this grey world the only color it might ever have. It was as if Robin's life purpose had been to die; his blood born to be split like a Jackson Pollack painting across the grey ground of Klarion's realm.

"I will keep you alive…just a bit longer."

With those words that rung like an unholy enchantment, Robin felt a spark of life, albeit dark, envelope him. His heart beat faster, his lungs healed themselves, but the shadow creature's conjoined arms still were plunged through his chest.

"I won't take that out just yet. It's fun to watch you cry, birdie."

Klarion outstretched his arm as if to grasp someone who wasn't there in the emptiness next to him. Robin look over, confused and disoriented, as Artemis appeared in a similar puff of grey mist.

"We'll have to repeat and play again. What was that beast-thing even on, witch boy?" Artemis glared. "Pumped up with satanic steroids? It hardly looked fair."

"But Artemis…" Klarion whined, pouting at his more-than-girlfriend, his more-than-apprentice.

Robin gazed between the two, fearful of their insanity and ignorance towards the fact that he had a wacked-out shadowy arm weapon in him. No big deal really…

"Witch boy," Artemis crossed her arms and looked away, before biting her lip to repress a snicker. She still relished in taunting him.

"Fine!" Klarion screamed like a child caught stealing by his parents. "Next time, I'll make things 'fair."

Klarion stared at Robin, muttering a mumbled spell. As the boy wonder slipped out of consciousness, the creature finally withdrew its arms, letting the boy's body clunk to the ground. Robin's chest knitted itself back together, magically reforming skin without even the slightest scarring.

"What is the point of this anyway, Klarion?"

"In the waking world, Robin is bound, drugged. The Justice League hasn't been able to decide what to do with him in the week we've been away."

Artemis tisked, slightly mad that Klarion would still withhold relevant information about the League until the last second.

"Do they believe that fake memories you implanted?"

"Most…but of course, they're suspicious."

"Why would they believe Robin could do anything that we actually did? The deaths, the magical barrier…"

Klarion stepped forward, lightly placing his thumb against her mouth to silence her. "Robin's dreaming mind has been linked to this pocket realm for days. He forgets everytime he wakes up here, fights some predictable monsters, and eventually dies."

"But...but why?" Artemis' eyes widened, curious, but without care for her former teammate.

"Being here corrupts him…magically. Just as being here has strengthened you and your connection to my magic, it had done the same with him. But it's different…he's still weak and unaccepting of dark magic."

"Are you trying to replace me? Move on with some way-too-flexible bird-freak?"

"No..." Klarion sighed. "He has the barest ability at dark magic nevertheless…enough that Zatara could detect and blame him for."

"I…" Artemis stuttered, not wanting to say sorry, so she choose to distract Klarion. "So, who believes the fake memories?"

Klarion smiled, "Everyone who is a telepath, magic-user, or has a general grudge against Batman's leadership."

"A grudge against the Batman?"

"What? Even the mightiest of Earth's heroes have greed for his power and prestige. Your 'uncle' one of them…"

"But who doesn't believe it then?"

"Well…" Klarion drew a breath, wondering how to break the instability they…no, he had caused be quickly taking Artemis away...but he would never regret it.

* * *

AN: I'm sorry for the wait (but know that since I don't have school or a job this summer, I can update more frequently).

What heroes do you want to not believe that Robin killed Artemis' mother and kidnapped her?

Anyways, for those interested in Klarion fics, I suggest reading "**Scientifically Supernatural**" by** SParkie96 **(Klarion/Robin) or "**Chaotic**" by **Hesychia** (Klarion/Artemis).


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